Living with Hermione
by NeonDomino
Summary: Hermione has nowhere else to go due to Ron cheating on her and Harry arranges for her to stay at Grimmauld Place until she finds her feet. Sirius is far from happy with the arrangement, but as Harry reminds him he owes Hermione his life. SB/HG
1. Chapter 1

**As you can see I am terrible at naming my stories.**

**I own nothing.**

**This is for a variety of challenges:**

**Story Beginnings Challenge - To start the story with the following: She should have known it was too good to be true.**

**The Sherlock Competition - Write about somebody who's moving in or finding a new place to live.**

**The Disney Movie Plotline Competition - Old Yeller. Write about someone doing something difficult or about someone doing something they don't want to do.**

**The Betrayal Competition - Type of Betrayal - Affair/Cheating.**

**Wow that's a lot of challenges/Competitions. Now on with the story...**

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She should have known it was too good to be true. She loved him more than anything and all he done was betray her. She watched as though it was slow motion as he jumped from the bed, shouting her name. Her wand in her hand, she should have hexed him yet the only thing working was her feet. She ran from the room and to the fireplace, calling out Harry Potter's address and the last thing she saw was his face running towards the fireplace after her.

**oOo**

"Please Sirius, she has nowhere else to go!"

Sirius Black glared at his godson. "That's hardly my problem now is it?"

Harry glared back.

Sirius continued, "I mean, if she couldn't keep Ron happy and he broke up with her then why should I be made to suffer having her live here with me? Obviously Ron couldn't put up with her for long."

"They were together for 3 years. She caught him shagging someone else," Harry yelled.

"Not my problem," Sirius repeated slowly as though he was talking to someone stupid.

Harry hit the table hard. "She's my best friend."

"She's not mine."

"What if it were Remus or my father? Would you do everything you could to help them? Why would I be any different for my friends?"

Harry saw Sirius waver slightly at the mention of his friends. Sirius was the most loyal person, yet his mind was clouded by his need to be alone, by what Azkaban had done to him.

"She saved your life. Hermione owned that time turner. Hermione was the one that worked out to get Buckbeak, Hermione was the one who howled at Remus to get him to run towards us to save you and Hermione was the one who found the window."

Sirius was silent, glaring at Harry. Finally he sighed.

"You're right, you're the bloody chosen one after all. She can come here, she can stay but I want her out of my way, I don't want nor need company. She keeps herself to herself. I don't need rent money so her saving that should allow her to save enough in a few months to be out of my hair."

Harry let out a breath. "Thank you Sirius, you don't know what this means..."

"What it means is me and her are even. It means that this is the one and only time you can use her saving my life as a reason to ask for anything. If its a life and death situation that's another story, but we're even."

Harry nodded, relieved. "When can she come?"

"Tomorrow. She can have her and Ginny's old room."

Harry nodded and thanked him before leaving.

Sirius watched him disappear into the fire, and wondered what he got himself into. He took a large mouthful of Firewhisky as he contemplated how difficult his life was going to be with Hermione Granger living in his house and interrupting his solitude.

**oOo**

Hermione landed on the Potters floor and coughed. It wasn't the most elegant landing and within seconds she felt a child land on top of her.

"Aunty!"

She grabbed the bundle that had dived on her and pulled the little boy into a hug. "James, where's mummy and daddy?"

James ran out of the room calling for "mum, mum, mum, mum, mum."

Within a minute, Ginny had come running into the room and the moment Hermione met her eyes, she burst into tears on the floor.

It took Ginny an hour to calm Hermione down enough to tell her what had happened, and when Harry came in the room he found Hermione crying in a pregnant crying emotional Ginny's arms and when he finally got the story from them he turned up at Ron and Hermione's flat and broke Ron's nose.

His next order of business was to get Hermione to stay with him and he wasted a lot of time trying to talk her around she was adamant that she couldn't stay at theirs, what with James and the new baby on the way.

6 hours after Hermione had turned up, Harry had made his way to Grimmauld Place to speak to his recluse of a Godfather.

After that talk, the next point of order was to collect Hermione's stuff. Hermione was never one to sit around and wait, she wanted to collect her stuff straight away and Harry couldn't blame her.

When Harry and Hermione turned up at the flat to collect Hermione's stuff, Ron had got the message and disappeared. Hermione quickly shrunk her entire wardrobe, saving emptying it. She done the same with all her belongings - shoes, jewellery, makeup, toiletries, and anything that held value to her. She shrunk a small armchair that she had bought for the study/library that her and Ron shared and finally all the books she could. Everything went into her one suitcase and she looked around, holding back the tears in her eyes as she walked back to the fireplace with her case.

They went straight to Grimmauld Place to find a drunk Sirius being shouted at by a very hormonal Ginny Weasley, with Remus Lupin trying to act as a peacemaker.

Harry took one look at the group of them, Remus looking like he was going to either laugh or cry, Sirius half passed out on the table and Ginny giving them hell, and led Hermione straight to the stairs.

"Go put your stuff away," he ordered and Hermione brought her trunk up the stairs to her old room. As she arrived downstairs she caught Harry force a sobering potion down Sirius' throat and Ginny ranting at a bewildered Remus.

She let out a sigh, this was her new life.

**oOoOoOo**

It took a week for Sirius to actually realise she was there. Correction, it took a week for Sirius to be sober enough to remember she was there. It came as a shock to him, he hadn't seen Hermione in about four years and then suddenly there was a strange witch in his kitchen.

Once he realised the sexy witch cooking dinner wasn't a threat, somewhere behind his hang-over he thought it would be a good idea to make his move. It had been a long time since he had been with a women, in fact he couldn't remember the last time. Some time before Azkaban.

After a few seductive words on his part, a slap and a bat-bogey hex on hers and some choice words of her own he finally realised something. This witch wasn't impressed by words, he had lost his skills. He tried another line and was rewarded with a silencing hex.

He felt her press a hang-over potion into his hand, and he drunk it. Finally he looked up and realised his mistake.

This wasn't a strange witch in his kitchen, the hair gave it away.

This was Hermione Granger.

He suddenly remembered his conversation with Harry and cursed under his breath.

"Sorry Hermione I forgot you were staying here. Fuck me you've grown up."

She glared at him and turned back to her cooking.

"Right... well I'm going to finish cooking dinner, it's Spaghetti Bolognese. Do you want me to leave you some wrapped up or..."

"I'll eat at the table."

Hermione nodded and served the food up for them. Neither of them spoke as they ate and Sirius quickly used magic to get the plates washed as Hermione left the room.

As he poured himself a drink, he wondered what Hermione's problem was, all he did was make a few comments about what he wanted to do to her.

He listened to a door slam and groaned. This was going to be a really situation to deal with.

This silent treatment continued for another week. Hermione cooked every evening after returning from work, Sirius ate with her and thanked her and washed up. No other words were uttered.

Then a few days later Ron Weasley fell through the floo network.

Sirius Black just stared at him as he stood up and dusted himself off. He went to the cupboard and took out a sober-up potion and sat in his armchair.

Ron watched him and asked for Hermione.

Sirius narrowed his eyes. "Why?"

"So I can apologise."

"What did you do?"

Hermione heard a shout from downstairs, she rushed down to find an unconscious Ron on the floor. She looked at Ron, suffering from a broken nose and propped against the wall and back at Sirius who was sitting calmly with a slight grin on his face.

"I don't like uninvited guests."

"I can... see that."

"Aren't you going to scold me Miss Granger?"

Hermione looked at the smug expression on his face, and into his eyes. She could see clearly that him hurting Ron was for how he treated her and not for the fact that Ron turned up unannounced.

"No Sirius, you don't like uninvited guests and that's what he is."

She lifted her wand and levitated him into the fireplace. She grabbed some powder and threw it in and shouted "The Burrow."

With a green flash he was gone.

Sirius raised his eyebrows, he had expected Hermione to be upset that he beat up the love of her life, or concerned about his health, when he met her gaze, he saw a bottle of firewhisky in her hand.

"Drink?" She asked and he grinned. "I think this is the start of a beautiful friendship Kitten."

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**Please review and I'll start another chapter soon.**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N - I own nothing.**

**I was shocked to wake up this morning and see all the followers, all the people who favourite this and are now following/favourited me. It made me want to give you another chapter as soon as possible.**

**This is what happened in the first chapter.**

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_**Ron**_

Ron walked into the pub and looked around, he knew he wouldn't be there alone for long, and by the time he reached the bar a group of girls and guys had attached to him asking him if he was Ron Weasley. He smiled to himself as someone ordered him a drink.

He had enough money to buy his own, but everyone always insisted - they all wanted to brag about having a drink with a member of the Golden Trio after all.

He was slightly drunk when the little blonde started paying him extra attention then the others... well a couple of other girls had tried but they were both brunettes and had curly hair, he could get that at home, so he smiled at the blonde and allowed her to press up against him with suggestive words.

An hour later he found himself in an alley with the girl, her hands pulling on his trousers, stroking him through them and he couldn't think straight. He knew Hermione would still be at work, for some reason even though they had money, she continued to work - and he apparated him and blondie home.

He brought them straight into the bedroom, the girl didn't even pause to acknowledge that they were somewhere else, she was too busy pulling down his trousers, and his hands found themselves busy taking off her top and her bra until they were naked and on the bed.

Somewhere in the back of his mind he knew what he was doing was wrong, he knew that the moment it was over, or by the next morning he would feel the guilt that always followed but he ignored it as he always did.

Then for the next 10 minutes he fucked the girl in their bed before he heard the door open, and looked up to see the shocked and hurt expression on Hermione's face before she ran.

_**Sirius**_

Sirius Black just stared at him as he stood up and dusted himself off. He went to the cupboard and took out a sober-up potion and sat in his armchair.

Ron watched him and asked for Hermione.

Sirius narrowed his eyes. "Why?"

"So I can apologise."

"What did you do?"

Ron took a deep breath, he didn't really want to tell Sirius but he was wary of the man... Plus Sirius more then likely knew from Harry or from Hermione already.

"I had sex with someone else."

Sirius nodded, waiting for the sober-up potion to come into effect. He wanted his head to be clear, he wanted to remember the look on the boys face when he broke it.

"Why?" He asked the tall boy in front of him.

"I don't know. I was out and everyone knows my name, I was getting a lot of attention and ended up bringing the girl home."

"What's her name?"

Ron was silent for a minute, "I don't know," he confessed.

Sirius closed his eyes and held his temper for the time being.

"So you threw away everything for a shag with someone you didn't know that you met hours before?"

Ron nodded nervously.

"How many times have you done this?"

Ron shook his head in denial, "just this once... I don't..."

Sirius stood up. "I'm not stupid Weasley, the first time is always the hardest to cheat if you try not to do it, it gets easier over time and your story made it sound pretty fucking easy."

Ron eyed the other man nervously. "You're accusing me..."

"A simple yes or no will do Ron, I'll know if you are lying."

Sirius had stood up now and moved over to him.

Ron stared at the man for a long time and nodded his head, shame filling his eyes.

"How many times?" Sirius growled.

"Only a few..."

"HOW MANY TIMES?" Sirius shouted.

"Every week - for almost a year. Hermione works late every Friday."

Sirius dropped the sober up potion and grabbed Ron by his t-shirt and knocked the boy into the wall. He took delight in the slightly dazed, scared expression that clouded Ron's face.

"You betrayed her for a fucking year? If you didn't want to be with her you should have told her the truth from the start, she's been your friend for 10 years. 10 years of friendship meant nothing to you for a fucking shag with someone you don't even know the name of?"

Ron opened his mouth to argue but Sirius didn't want to hear it.

"You think an apology is enough, you think she'll forgive you for what you done? You don't deserve forgiveness."

"I just wanted to tell her..." Ron started but Sirius wasn't interested in anything that came from Rons mouth.

"You don't betray friends," he roared.

He brought his fist back and smashed it hard into Ron's face, the force of it smacking Ron's head back into the wall, and a loud satisfying crack breaking his nose.

Sirius dropped him where he was, leaving Ron slumped against the wall, he was glad of the potion because if he was still drunk he wouldn't have stopped at that punch. Being sober allowed him to know when to stop. He heard the floor creak above and knew Hermione was on her way down. He walked back to his chair to wait Hermione's wrath.

He was surprised when Hermione didn't seem upset at him, instead she pulled out the alcohol and he realised the girl wasn't so bad after all.

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**Sorry everyone, Ron cheating on Hermione - I couldn't really write smut for that bit because Ron was doing wrong. I'm saving that for Hermione and Sirius ;)**

**Hopefully my Sirius is working, I can imagine the thing to anger him the most is Ron betraying a friend - I thought it would remind him of how the Marauders all thought Peter loyal and he betrayed them and Ron was (not in as large a scale as Peter of course,) betraying Hermione - as though a friendship of 10 years (3 of which were their relationship) meant nothing.**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N - Thanks to all those that have added this story to their favourites or followed this story, and to those who have reviewed. I love reading the reviews. I'm glad that you are all enjoying this so far.**

**As usual I own nothing.**

**I have another Hermione/Sirius story and a Hermione/James and a Sirius/Remus story I'm working on so I'll make sure to update as soon as possible with each.**

**Hopefully you enjoy this chapter. I know its short but wanted to give you something and it seemed like a good point to finish the chapter here.**

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They had drunk in silence for a while before Sirius heard Hermione speak. "Thank you," she told him.

He looked at her for a moment. "Its fine." He hesitated for a few minutes. "Do you want to know what he said, its not something I want to tell you, however its something you have the right to know..."

Hermione nodded her head. "I have no intentions of being with him again, it would be nice to hear the truth, I don't care if it hurts."

Sirius nodded. He went into the other room and carried a bowl back with him. He pulled the memory from his head and placed it in the bowl.

"Pensive," he told her. "Just touch the memory to view it."

Hermione nodded and stared into the bowl.

Sirius hesitated for a moment, seeing her stare at the bowl nervously. "You want me to be there with you?" Sirius asked and Hermione looked at him in surprise. After some thought she nodded, and he reached out and took her hand, and they both put their hands in the bowl to view.

After a few minutes they found themselves standing by the bowl again. Sirius had let go of Hermione's hand and she sat down and poured her and Sirius another drink each. Sirius replaced the memory and put the old pensive away.

He accepted the drink from Hermione's hand and downed it. He waited for her to speak.

"He deserved it, he deserves worse," she said, her voice strangely calm.

Sirius nodded. "I was tempted to do worse."

"Thank you," she said again and he nodded. She stood up and washed her glass before carefully hugging Sirius and wishing him goodnight before going to bed.

Sirius sat frozen, he couldn't remember the last time someone hugged him so easily. Tonks and Molly would hug him in greeting but those were quick uncomfortable hugs. Hermione... she hugged him not because she felt she had to, but because she wanted to.

"Goodnight Hermione," he said softly after her.

**oOoOo**

The next few days went by the same as before, both barely talking and Hermione cooking and Sirius cleaning up but it seemed that something had changed. There wasn't so much awkwardness in the place. It felt more comfortable.

Sirius actually found himself enjoying that little bit of company. Hermione never pushed him for conversation, or companionship, in fact he barely saw or heard her around the place. She kept herself to herself, seeming to be happy with the arrangement.

In fact he wasn't even aware how long she had been there as through the drinking days tended to be a blur. He would always wake up to find a fresh goblet of hang-over potion next to him.

He was sure it was her way of thanking him for standing up for her or for letting her stay with him and he made sure to thank her each time he managed to see her around the house.

That was when he saw her before or during dinner, he never remembered a thing that happened after dinner, that would be a massive blank and then the next day he would drink his potion and do the same thing the next day.

He especially liked the fact that not once did Hermione scold him for his drinking, everyone else had but she left him to it and that's what he wanted - to be left to do whatever he chose to do without someone judging him.

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**Please review. I love reviews :)**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N - Thanks to my wonderful new Beta - Michy Drarry Shipper who has helped me a lot with this chapter.**

**Hope you all enjoy it. Thanks to everyone who have added an alert to me or the story.**

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A couple of weeks passed the same way; not that Sirius noticed, but Hermione did.

Part of her didn't blame Sirius for the state he put himself in. She had heard his drunken ramblings where he would sit and mutter about Azkaban and decided that if this was his way of coping, who was she to come in like a concerned friend and order him to stop? Harry and Remus had tried and failed, so how could she be expected to do better?

Sirius could only help himself at this point. He would have to accept everything in his life that had happened and be willing to put it behind him before he could recover. If he came to her for help, she'd be more than willing to help, but she wasn't going to force her help upon him. That hadn't worked for anyone else and it might have been because no-one gave him the option to come to them when he was ready, they just pushed their opinions on him. No matter how well meaning they were, she knew straight off that Sirius was stubborn and that if she pushed the issue, it would do more harm than good.

Hermione always made sure that he was fine when he woke up and had a hangover potion ready by his bed.

There were days when she'd join him for a drink, and they would sit in silence. The only words uttered were those for offering, accepting and refusing another drink.

It wasn't long before Harry and Ginny decided to stop by to catch up and check that they hadn't killed each other. The first thing they both noticed was the state of the place - it was tidier, fresher and cleaner. Curtains were drawn back, windows were open; things that were unheard of before Hermione moved in.

Ginny found Hermione cooking some dinner and she looked at her in surprise.

"Good thing I was cooking extra," Hermione grinned and poured extra pasta into the pot for the couple.

As she was cooking, Harry went in search of Sirius and found him in the study, opening a new bottle of Firewhiskey.

He looked at Harry and gave a smile. "It's been a while Potter, where've you been?"

Harry grinned. "A few weeks, thought I'd give Hermione time to settle in. How've you been Sirius, how are things between you both?"

Sirius shrugged. "All good. She doesn't get in the way, she doesn't badger me or bother me or irritate me... Plus her cooking isn't too bad."

"Wait, you get her to cook for you?"

"No, of course not," he sounded annoyed. "She offers and I clear up afterwards."

Harry sighed. "How's she doing with her nightmares?"

Sirius shrugged. "I don't know anything about nightmares."

Harry frowned. "She's been having them for years and they tend to be worse when she's stressed. I just assumed they would have come back now."

Sirius snorted. "So you send her here, the house that's the cause of all nightmares, to recover?"

Harry shook his head. "How's she dealing with Ron?"

"Well, since the day he turned up she hasn't been bothered."

Harry nodded. "Do you see her around the house much?"

Sirius shook his head. "She keeps to herself, same as me. I see her when she cooks dinner."

Harry looked at him for a minute.

"Sirius, do me a favour. Tonight stay sober - can you do that for me?"

Sirius glared at Harry. "I can choose to be sober, I don't rely on alcohol - I use it to forget, but I can go without if I want."

"Okay, sorry to imply you couldn't. So tonight, don't drink and use a spell to remove any silencing charms on Hermione's room. I just want to know if she's having the nightmares again."

"What makes you think she'll have one tonight?"

"Because she looks exhausted," Harry replied.

Sirius had never really paid attention and wanted to get a look at the girl to see if this was in fact true.

"Do you still have your nightmares?"

Sirius shrugged. "They come and go. I don't remember if I have them or not when I drink."

Harry shook his head. "You could get help, to stop the nightmares."

Sirius groaned. "I don't need help with anything Harry," he said in a voice that Harry had learnt to not fight. He paused. "What are her nightmares about?"

Harry frowned for a moment. "Something that happened when we were on the Horcrux hunt... Something that she doesn't want people to know."

"If you want me to check if she's having nightmares, I need to know Harry."

"We were caught by Snatchers and taken to Malfoy Manor... Bellatrix was there and me and Ron were locked up. Hermione was tortured with the Cruciatus curse and Bellatrix cut her up with a cursed knife. She still has the scars and 'Mudblood' carved into her arm."

Sirius was frozen. "She didn't tell anyone that?"

Harry shook his head. "You know what Hermione is like..."

Sirius nodded. "Okay, I'll check tonight."

A little while later, they joined Hermione and Ginny and ate dinner. "Sirius, mum wants you both to come over tomorrow for the family dinner. She left the invites for a few weeks because she thought Hermione wouldn't want to be around Ron, but she wants you to know that you're both welcome."

Sirius looked at Hermione.

"I'm not worried about Ron being there," she said and Sirius shrugged.

"Yeah, sure."

Harry looked at him in surprise, but said nothing about Sirius accepting the offer, as he didn't do it often. He and Ginny got their stuff together and headed home after saying their goodbyes.

Sirius, true to his word, took a Sober Up potion after Harry left and carried on as usual. Without alcohol. He heard Hermione head up from the library to bed around 9 o'clock and he took a nap.

A few hours later, his wand alarm woke him up and he snuck up the stairs. He mumbled a spell to unlock Hermione's door. He figured that if he opened it and stepped in, he would be able to hear if she was having a nightmare, as the spell she would have used would be effective on the exterior of room, so anyone inside wouldn't be affected.

He opened the door and looked in.

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**You know how this works - Review please, reviews = happy Neo (that's me) :D**


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N - I own nothing.**

**Thanks to everyone who is following this story/has favourited it or has reviewed.**

**Thanks to my Beta - Michy Darry Shipper for looking over and helping with this chapter.**

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Sirius looked in the room and noticed that Hermione was sleeping quietly. The only signs that she had suffered from nightmares at some point during the night were the covers tangled around her legs, as though she had fought with them, and the way she was curled into herself.

He waited a few minutes, before realising that it was a waste of time. He could easily remove the silencing charm and leave the door open, rather than just stand there watching her sleep when she might not have any more nightmares that night.

Sirius left the door ajar. That way, if she didn't have nightmares, she'd still have a bit of privacy when she woke up. He returned to his room, leaving his door open, and changed.

He climbed into bed and tried to relax, feeling strange that he was laying there trying to sleep without being drunk. Just as soon as he had gotten comfortable, he heard a loud scream followed by a sob. He jumped out of bed and rushed to Hermione's room.

Sirius pushed the door open and saw Hermione arching on the bed, looking like she was having a fit. He walked over to her, wondering what to do – should he wake her or try to comfort her?

He realised that getting her out of the dream was the best thing to do to start with, followed by finding a way to calm her down once she was awake. He used to have Remus, who would sometimes wake him. Sirius' problem was that he would wake up and have a drink to calm himself and help him sleep, which led to his reliance on alcohol before bed to stop the nightmares.

"Please, we found it, we haven't been in your vault. Please!"

Her body was shaking and moving as though she was experiencing the curse whilst asleep, and he moved across the room and to her bedside. He gently touched her shoulder, and then shook her softly. It didn't work so he shook her harder. "Kitten, wake up." It took a few minutes for him to be able to wake her up and then she lay there shaking. She didn't question why he was there. She seemed more intent on putting on a brave face for him.

Sirius wondered for a moment if he should offer Hermione a drink; it helped him after all. He thought about Hermione being drunk every night and hung over every morning and realized it was a stupid idea. He wouldn't like her to end up like him, being reliant on alcohol to solve her problems. There were better ways – ways that, Hermione at least, would consider. Maybe counselling? He would never go himself, but Hermione might.

He carefully sat down on the edge of the bed and took her hand in his, drawing her attention to him. "I know a hell of a lot about nightmares, Kitten. If you need to cry, then do it, don't try to be brave just because I'm here."

She held his hand tightly, trying to control her emotions. Hermione's mask slipped for a moment and Sirius quickly climbed on the bed. He rested his back against the headboard and pulled her close, hoping that it would comfort her somehow. She moved so that she was almost sitting in his lap and rested her head on his chest. He could feel her shaking, trying to hold it in still.

"Let it out," Sirius whispered and he listened to her quiet sobs.

He stroked her hair for a while as she calmed down and her breathing evened out. Sirius had planned to move out from under her, lay her down on the bed and return to his, but before he could put that plan into action, he fell asleep, comfortable with the girl holding him despite sitting in an awkward position.

The next morning, he woke up with a sore back and the girl still in his arms. He had no intention of moving away from her and he used the time whilst she was sleeping in his arms to think about why he was so happy to sit there. He realised that he was reluctant to move away because for the first time in a long time, someone really, actually needed him.

Well, Harry needed his Godfather and Remus needed his friend, but no-one actually needed him to help them, rather they were all trying to help him. Until now. As he was sitting thinking about this, Hermione woke up and looked startled for a moment before it came back to her.

"How did you know I was having a nightmare?" she asked, her voice croaky from the crying in the night.

"Harry spoke to me yesterday," Sirius replied and Hermione sighed.

"Trust Harry to interfere." She looked up and met his gaze. "Thank you Sirius, you didn't have to stay in here, but it was nice of you."

Sirius smiled as Hermione sat up. "I know a few things about nightmares, Kitten. I think I told you that last night," he said, getting up off the bed and stretching. "I'd rather you not deal with them alone. If you have them, I expect you to come and get me."

"I can't do that, I have them often and..."

"And nothing. Like I've said, I've suffered with them myself. What happened to cause them can't be undone, but you don't have to suffer every night."

He left the room, Hermione staring after him. As he closed the door behind him, he felt strange. It had been years since he had shared a bed with someone, years since he held a girl in his arms.

In fact, the last time his arms had been around a women, comforting her, had been when Lily and James had had to go into hiding, and he'd had to say goodbye to them. He had hugged James first and said goodbye, and when Lily had clutched at him, sobbing into his shirt, he had pulled her close and kissed the top of her head. He had told her he would see her soon. James had patted him on the back and Sirius had watched them leave.

He shook his head; it was thoughts like that led to alcohol. Besides, he was doing Harry a favour and repaying his debt to Hermione for her saving him.

She was just a friend – a young woman that he was fond of, and who needed his help.

Nothing more.

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**Please review :D**


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N - I own nothing.**

**Please review - thanks to all those that have done so already, thanks to everyone who's favourited me, this story, or are following me or this story. (or any of my other stories.)**

**Thanks to my Beta - Michy Drarry Shipper for working on this (any my other stories) with me :)**

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Hermione watched him leave and slowly got out of the bed. As she took her shower, her thoughts drifted to Sirius. She thought about how surprised she was to find herself in his arms when she woke up, and how comfortable she had been in that moment.

Ron had never understood her nightmares. He would wake her up and then proceed to roll over and start snoring again. She had never really expected him to be able to do more than that, although it would have been nice for him to try.

But Sirius... Sirius understood. He said he had them too, he knew what they were like.

Hermione wondered how Sirius' nightmares affected him. Did he feel the effects they had on the body; the struggle to breathe afterwards, the feeling of reliving it over and over, being able to feel the pain course through your body, waking up drenched in a cold sweat, your body shaking and tears running down your face? Feeling so weak and scared?

Or did he handle it better than she did?

She watched Sirius for the rest of the morning, their eyes meeting a few times, and she wondered to herself how she could feel more comfortable in his arms than she had ever felt in Ron's.

Maybe it was because he had comforted her from the nightmares and she really needed someone – maybe that's why it had felt so good. Or was it something more?

She shook her head slightly. She was mistaking it. They cared about each other because they were friends, yet she was imagining it to be so much more. _'Just friends'_ she repeated over and over in her head. Her friend that felt so comfortable with his arms... _'NO'_ she told herself, trying to stop thinking about it.

There was still some time before they would leave for the Burrow, and when she had finished washing up after breakfast, she headed back to her room. No matter how else she tried to occupy her mind that morning, it remained fixed on Sirius.

When it was almost time to head to the Burrow, Hermione started getting ready, then made her way into the kitchen where Sirius was helping himself to a Firewhisky.

As she walked into the room, Sirius looked her over. She was small and slim but with curves. Her hair was tamed into soft curls down her back and she had a hint of makeup on. She was wearing a short black skater dress, with tartan leggings and boots. He opened his mouth to tell her how beautiful she was looking, but quickly closed it again.

Since when did he think she was beautiful?

"You look nice... You ready to go?" he said instead, and she nodded.

Sirius walked to the counter and pulled out another glass, grabbed the Firewhisky and tipped them a shot each. Once they drunk it, she looked a bit more relaxed.

"Floo or apparate?"

"Apparate, I don't want to dirty my clothes," Hermione replied.

Sirius led the way to the front door, taking a moment to lift down Hermione's coat and hold it so that she could slip into it.

The both felt confused by this, knowing it wasn't like him. Well, Sirius knew it was like the old him, back when James and Lily were alive, when he'd go on dates and be a perfect gentleman – pulling out chairs, opening doors, helping his woman into her coat. That's how he was brought up after all, but since returning, he hadn't bother with any of that. So why now? Why Hermione?

She slipped into the coat and thanked him, and he led her outside.

"Sirius... can I ask you something?" Hermione asked and Sirius nodded.

"Why did you let me stay here? I get the impression you prefer your solitude – surely I disrupt that?"

Sirius nodded again. "It's true, I do like my solitude. I guess that's what happens after so many years of being alone..."

He wrapped his arms around her, pulling her into him and apparated them to the edge of the wards by the Burrow. Hermione allowed herself to enjoy the feeling of being pressed against his chest, with his arms around her for a moment, before he let go and offered her his arm to walk inside. She tried to tell herself that she would have felt the same with someone else's arms around her, not just Sirius'.

"I admit, I initially agreed for you to stay because I felt I owed you. You saved me years ago and now you're the one in need of help. But now you're here, and it's nice to have your company. It's nice to feel like I'm making a difference, albeit a small one, by letting you stay or like last night. It's not about owing you anymore, it's more about helping out a friend."

She squeezed his arm. "You make a lot of difference. It's nice not having someone forcing me to talk about Ron, just allowing me space to talk in my own time."

They shared a small smile. There were silent for a few moments before Sirius spoke. "You're welcome to stay as long as you like," he blurted out. "I mean it's nice to have company sometimes. I like having you around."

Hermione grinned. "I like being there too."

As they approached the door, Sirius looked at Hermione. "Ready to face Ron again?" he asked softly. Hermione nodded before reaching out and knocking on the door.

**oOo**

Arthur greeted them with a smile. "Come in, come in," he said, hugging Hermione and shaking Sirius' hand. He led them into the kitchen and they greeted Molly with a hug before she sent them out into the garden.

There was a table set up and Remus, Tonks, Harry, Ginny, Bill and Fleur were already sitting around it. Sirius took one of the empty seats as the group greeted him.

"How are things with Hermione living there?" Tonks asked.

Sirius shrugged. "At first, I thought she'd be in the way, but it's not like that. She keeps herself to herself mostly. It's actually nice to have a bit of company. I didn't realise how nice it would be having her there."

Remus raised an eyebrow. He could see something in his friend's face – something he hadn't seen in a long time. He didn't want to draw attention to it in front of the others, but he knew something was up with Sirius and his feelings for Hermione.

He looked between Tonks and Ginny who were smiling at each other, no doubt having noticed too. Harry didn't seem to have a clue though, and neither did the other guys. Fleur was looking between Sirius and Hermione as though she was unsure herself.

Sirius just seemed too... happy.

**oOo**

Hermione had gone straight out and felt an energetic bundle hit her in the legs.

"Aunty 'Mione!"

There were more shouts of the same and another bundle hit her legs. She fell backwards and landed on her bum.

"Teddy, Victoire let me up," she said through her laughing.

The children pouted at her.

"How can we play a game if I'm laying on the ground?"

The kids jumped up and Hermione climbed off the ground, wiping down her back as best she could.

"Okay, I have a game. Let's play hide and seek?"

The kids started squealing as they ran away to hide, and Hermione turned around, so she could start counting.

"Teddy was so excited to hear that Hermione was coming today," Remus said, watching the children attack Hermione.

"So was Victoire," said Bill, as the twins approached the table.

"She's so good with them," Ginny said, disappointment in her voice. "I had always hoped that she and Ron would have their own..." She filtered out.

"She'd make a good mother, when she finds the right man," Sirius said, not taking his eyes off her. Tonks nudged Remus and nodded towards Sirius. Remus hid a smile. He didn't think Sirius had looked away from the girl since they arrived.

"She'll find someone else, someone better for her, someone who deserves her," Fleur said.

Sirius listened to the chatter around the table, as he watched Hermione. He noticed that the Weasleys didn't seem best pleased with Ron.

"Is there no way she would take him back, I mean it was one mistake..." Bill started and everyone jumped into the conversation. Fleur looked angry at his suggestion and the voices were getting louder as everyone tried to speak over each other. Sirius' eyes finally left Hermione as he stared at Bill. He tried to speak but he wasn't heard over everyone else. He slammed his fist down into the table hard, drawing everyone's attention, as they all turned to look at him.

"It wasn't just one time. Hermione works late one day a week. Those were the nights that he would go out drinking alone and bring a girl home. He's been doing it every week for about a year," Sirius told them.

They all stared at him. "How do you know that?" Fred asked.

"Ron told me when he turned up to apologise. I may have forced it out of him and smashed his head into a wall... and broken his nose," Sirius replied.

"You were the one that sent him back unconscious?" George snorted with laughter and Fred joined in.

Sirius grinned. "No, that was Hermione. She didn't seem to want to revive him or heal him. I was happy to just leave him there on the floor."

"Does she know?" Harry asked and Sirius nodded. "I showed her what happened in the pensive. Thought she had a right to the truth."

"Why'd you do that? I mean, I thought Hermione was just someone you were doing a favour for?" Ginny asked and Sirius shrugged.

"They were friends for 10 years and he betrayed her," Sirius Growled.

His eyes met with Remus'. Remus understood the reasoning behind what he was saying more than anyone.

"Plus, me and Hermione are friends. I should have remembered that from the start instead of having to be forced into letting her stay."

They all turned to look at Hermione, who had just found Teddy behind the shed and was tickling him, his squeals sounding across the garden. He took her hand and they both went to look for Victoire.

Ginny, Tonks and Remus all looked back at Sirius who was watching Hermione with a strange look on his face.

Finally, Hermione and Teddy found Victoire hiding behind the tree and Hermione went inside and grabbed a jug of juice and some glasses and brought them out. "It's too hot out here for you lot to not be drinking anything."

She poured the drinks and everyone reached for them. Sirius' fingers brushed hers as he took the glass. Her eyes widened and met his, seeing her confusion reflected. She blushed slightly and ducked her head to pour herself a glass. She took the empty seat next to him and smiled around the table, trying to forget the feeling that coursed through her when their fingers touched. She didn't remember any such feeling the night before when she cuddled up against him, but then again, when he had come into the room, she was half asleep.

Remus felt another nudge in his side. He had seen the expressions on their faces as the drink got passed. He knew he would have to have a word with Sirius soon.

Within moments, the kids came over to drink the juice, then they were pulling Hermione's arm. "Come on, Aunty 'Mione, let's play."

She smiled at the kids. "Guess what?"

They paused. "What?"

"Fred was just saying that he really wanted to play..." She grinned over at Fred, who glared at her as the kids ran around the table and started to pull him from his seat. "Don't forget George, he doesn't want to be left out."

George joined in glaring at Hermione, before he allowed the children to drag him across the garden.

Tonks laughed. "What did the twins do this time?"

Hermione smiled. "They said the same thing last time I was here, so now it's their turn."

Soon Molly called everyone for dinner. As they stood up, Ginny and Tonks dropped back, blocking Hermione from going inside.

"So what's going on between you and Sirius?" Tonks asked, grinning widely.


End file.
